The CPL heads to the United States as the second-placed Tallawahs get set to do battle with the third-placed Knight Riders in a matchup that will continue to shape the top three. Trinbago’s patchy form in CPL18 needs to improve if they’re to challenge for the title this year, they’re up against one of the form teams of the competition.

The Tallawahs registered their first loss of the tournament in their previous encounter against the Amazon Warriors who dominated proceedings. Jamaica has opted to use Kennar Lewis at the top of the order after scoring a half century at No. 6 in their season opener, and it’s been a positive move. Johnson Charles was the unlucky man to make way after his patchy form run continued from last years CPL, Lewis proving to be the beneficiary looking extremely dangerous against the new ball scoring 63 runs in his past two innings maintaining a 200+ strike rate in the process. New Zealander Glenn Phillips has been superb for the Tallawahs as the designated wicketkeeper & opening batsman, he’s averaging 37 from his four stints with the bat as he continues to hit the scoreboard. With the addition of South Africa’s David Miller, Jamaica have added a whole new dimension to their game as he joins Ross Taylor in the middle order forming a formidable batting-duo. After that mind-blowing century against Trinbago in their opening game of CPL18, Andre Russell seems to have cooled off adding just 14 runs in his past three innings. The question on everyone’s mind surely has to be will Russell take the Knight Riders to the cleaners again? While it seems unlikely, a player of Russell’s calibre simply can’t be discounted. The captain’s batting form may have declined, but he’s still contributing with the ball and in the field for the Tallawahs. Adam Zampa has done his job as the specialist leg-spinner and Krishmar Santokie continues to be Jamaica’s No. 1 seam option when it comes to taking wickets. Since drafting in Oshane Thomas, the Tallawahs have added another avenue to wickets with the 21-year-old quick bagging six wickets in three outings.

Looking like a side ready to take the competition by storm at any point in time, the Trinbago Knight Riders have had a patchy-campaign so far equalling their wins and losses at two apiece. This is by no means disappointing considering they still sit third on the points table, but they have some strong competition sitting below them in the Patriots and Tridents. It’s probably their efforts with the ball that are letting them down at the moment, some of Trinbago’s star bowlers haven’t come to the party yet which has seen them struggle to keep opposition totals down. Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo remain in the spotlight with the pair going through a bit of a rough patch. Narine’s wicket-taking ability seems to have disappeared and the Knight Riders skipper has conceded 50+ runs in his past three matches with the ball, the Dwayne Bravo effect seems to have worn off. DJ Bravo looked like he was going to have another standout CPL with the ball after claiming 3/11 in their tournament opener, but he’s been dominated by the batsmen ever since. Bravo will look to speedster Ali Khan to influence the match given his impressive stint in the CPL so far, his seven wickets in four matches has kept Trinbago in the contest despite a couple losses. It might be work brining back Kevon Cooper who’s a genuine wicket-taking all-rounder who provides stability down the order as well. The batting is not an issue for the Knight Riders, Brendon McCullum (68) and Darren Bravo (94*) were outstanding in the run chase against St Lucia, but it’s been Colin Munro who’s impressed in CPL18. Consistency isn’t a huge strength in his game, but you wouldn’t know it with Munro averaging 47.25 in the competition sitting third on the leading run-scorers. This match could go down to the wire!

Zak Varik is an Australian columnist/writer who specializes in the sports category cricket. With over four years of experience covering all sorts of cricket tournaments around the world, Zak has gained extensive knowledge in International cricket as well as domestic.
“I’ve loved watching cricket since I was about 7 years old, my childhood hero was none other than Andrew “Roy” Symonds who probably enhanced my love of the game through the years”.
Zak is now an established writer for FCN (Fantasy Cricket News) and has also previously represented other Blogs during his time as a writer.

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